Hoffenheim coach Pezzaiuoli to leave at season's end

BERLIN (AP) -- Hoffenheim says coach Marco Pezzaiuoli will leave at the end of the season with the Bundesliga club having won only once in its past eight matches.

Hoffenheim manager Ernst Tanner said Tuesday that Pezzaiuoli's task was "certainly not easy" after he took over in January, but the club decided to look for a new coach next season in light of "the developments of recent weeks."

It isn't yet clear who will replace Pezzaiuoli.

The 42-year-old Pezzaiuoli was previously an assistant to longtime coach Ralf Rangnick, who left after failing to prevent the transfer of midfielder Luiz Gustavo to Bayern Munich. Rangnick recently took over at Schalke.

Hoffenheim is 10th in the 18-team Bundesliga after losing 3-2 at Freiburg last weekend.

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